St. Paul daily globe., 1887-10-22

" lN
The land Office at Fargo yesterday
commenced to receive filings of land
claims in the contrOverted indemnity
limits of the Northern Pacific railroad.
1t is stated that the officials were kept
very busy. and will be for some time,
taking these filings, they numbering
many hundreds, perhaps thousands.
They are made subject to contest, the
railroad claiming to have possessed
them rightfully from the government.
As the matter is understood. the
strength of the claim of the railroad is
in the undisturbed possession of the
lands for series of years, and having
largely sold them to individuals
without interference from the
land department. 1t is insisted.
however, that under the laws its or
iginal right was to such of the lands i'll
the limits of its selection, with the APP
proval of the secretary OF the interior,
as would equal the number of acres in
the original grant lost by reason of
reservations or prior occupation by set
tiers. Instead of following this theory,
the road. without making any filings,
took possession of all the alternate sec
tiOnS in these two ten-mile tracts, conf
prising some 100000 acres, and pro-
ceGded to make sale of them as it saw
tit, very largely to wealthy spectators.
Large tracts of these lands are still held
by the purchasers unimproved-as. for
instance, the thirteen sections held by
Senator Window. But in the more
Of +l,a ialI
in the Red river valley-vaSt farms. and
many smaller ones, have been put in
cultivation, the purchasers generally no
doubt paying for them without thought
that the road did not have unqueStiOned
right to them. The land department
seems now, for the first time, to realize
that trespasser has come upon govern
ment lands, and proceeds to declare that
it has never parted with the title to
them, and to open them for settlement.
But the fact that the filings are made
subject to the claims of the railroad
shows a shadow of doubt in the official
mind. SQuatters have gone on the lands,
both improved and unimproved, in
great numbers, and are now besieging
the Fargo land Office. and others will
later seek to file at Bismarck. The big
farms are dotted with their ShantleS,
and the local lumber dealers, as well as
the land attorneys. are prOfitlng largely
by the situation. AS an incident of the
contest, the railroad has collected list
of its alleged losses in Dakota and Mill
nesota. and filed selections aggregating
about one-third of the lands in question.
a, Ill -,
to have hearing before the secretary
of the interior on the 26th of this month,
and the impression is gaining
ground in Dakota tn at there
will be modification of the
the order opening the lands to settle
ment, or some early adjustment. There
is apparent much confusion over the
situation in the minds of the legal rep
resentatives of both the road and the
government. and few profess to be able
to forecast the exact outcome. The
Northern Pacific evidently had feeble
claim to the lands in the first instance.
but the germ may have developed, and
the buyers are believed to melit recog-
milton. If they lose the lands. they
should be reasonably Unidentified,
either by the railroad or the govern
ment. Unless there is adjustment
reached through the Washington Off
cials. the matter will be contested in the
courts, and probably legislation will be
asked of congress. The present aspect
of the situation is very complicated.
IT MUST TAKE ITS COURSE.
A generally judiciOuS, but somewhat
impatient Democratic paper of the ter
ritory, assuming, very properly. that
the people, without political distinction,
are earnestly anxious for admission into
the Union, and that the president and
his party are favorable to that result,
insists that admission as one state should
be had in season to take part in the
presidential election. a little reflection
will show that, if this is not impracti-
cable 1t at least would require the put
ting aside of the usual steps in the
formation of a new state, and is more
than can reasonably be expected.
There should be opportunity for build
ing wisely and securely in fashiOning
the political vessel that is to be the GUS
todian of the interests of so vast and
varied community. The orderly and
most approved method is for congress to
pass an enabling act empowering the
people to elect a constitutional cOnven-
ton, which shall frame a constitution,
to be first ratified by the people of the
inchoate state at the ballot box, and
then accepted by congress. If the COM
ing session of congress tenders the en-
abling act il will REQUIRE some months
for the election of constitutional con-
yentIon and the framing of a constitu-
ton. Two special elections in one year
will hardly be eXpedient, and, if it shall
be ratified by the people at the regular
election in November of next year, the
state could be accepted and its repre-
sentatives admitted at the session of
congress Immediately following. This
Is as soon as statehood is likely TO be Sc
cured.
SIMPLY A MENACE.